Wall mounted ashtray with bottom discharge receptacle

ABSTRACT

A wall hung ashtray or smoker&#39;&#39;s urn having a permanently attached cover part, including pivoting tray members, and a removable ash receptacle detachably mounted within the body of the urn, the urn having an open bottom through which the receptacle may be removed for the discharge of its contents.

United States Patent Inventor Harry F. Dennis Cincinnati, Ohio Appl. No. 813,554 Filed Apr. 4, 1969 Patented July 6, 1971 Assignee The F. A. Lawson Company Cincinnati, Ohio WALL MOUNTED ASHTRAY WITH BOTTOM DISCHARGE RECEPTACLE 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 232/431, 220/205 Int. Cl A241 19/08 Field of Search 232/432, 43.5, 43.1, 1, 30; 220/205; 248/311 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1890 Haskell 232/30 1,237,763 8/1917 Ehalainen 232/431 1,807,079 5/1931 Wilmanns 232/4312 2,021,723 11/1935 Grunwald..... 220/205 2,072,706 3/1937 Bower 220/205 2,158,470 5/1939 McMillan..... 232/432 2,294,006 8/1942 Thorsheim 248/31 1 2,821,322 1/1958 Stockburger 220/205 3,508,703 4/1970 Wyant 232/432 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Attorney-Melville, Strasser, Foster and Hoffman ABSTRACT: A wall hung ashtray or smokers urn having a permanently attached cover part, including pivoting tray members, and a removable ash receptacle detachably mounted within the body of the urn, the urn having an open bottom through which the receptacle may be removed for the discharge of its contents.

PATENTEU JUL BIB?! 5 3 INVENTORES WALL MOUNTED ASIITRAY WITH BOTTOM DISCHARGE RECEPTACLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of wall mounted ashtrays have hitherto been proposed. In general, they comprise a body having a separate removable'cover part, including swingable trays which normally close the top of the body. A removable ash receptacle or receiver is positioned inside'the body, the receptacle being removed from the top by first removing the cover part.

While such units perform satisfactorily in service, a great deal of difficulty has been experienced due to vandalism. The cover parts, being readily removable, are often stolen. This is particularly true in theaters and other public places, and many purchasers of the urns have found it necessary to replace the cover parts on numerous occasions.

The instant invention overcomes the theft problem by providing a unit which, while essentially identical in outward appearance to presently used smokers urns, incorporates a permanently attached cover part which cannot be readily removed, and yet the enclosed receptacle or receiver is readily accessible to an attendant for the removal of collected ashes and the like.

RESUME OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, the body of the urn is provided with a permanently attached cover part, which includes the pivoting trays and their associated actuating mechanism, the cover part being removable only by disassembling the unit. The body has an open bottom which is not visible in ordinary use, and the ash receiver or receptacle is inserted into the body from beneath, being maintained in position by spring biased latch means which secure it in place beneath the movable trays. The arrangement is such that the receptacle makes snap-engagement with the latch means, and may be readily removed for discharge of its contents by forcefully pulling it downwardly, the bottom of the receptacle being provided with gripping means for this purpose.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a smokers urn in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof with certain of the underlying parts shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 illustrating a convenient mode for attaching the cover part to the body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a smokers urn in accordance with the instant invention comprises a body, indicated generally at I, the top of which is closed by a cover part 2 made up of a frame 3 and an opposing pair of pivotally mounted trays 4 and 5 which are normally closed, but are capable of being opened by means of the tabs 6 and 7 which, when actuated, cause the trays to pivot outwardly, thereby discharging their contents into the underlying receptacle or receiver 8. The specific construction of the cover part and the manner in which the pivoting trays are actuated does not constitute a limitation on the invention, and they may take diverse known forms.

The bottom of the body 1 is open, as indicated at 9 in FIG.

3, so that the receptacle 8 may be readily positioned beneath the trays of the cover part. The open bottom permits the cover part to be fixedly secured to the body of the urn, a convenient mode of attachment being illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein it will be seen that the opposite end walls of the body part have intumed flanges 10 and 11 on which the marginal end edges of the frame 3 are seated, the undersurfaces of the flanges being engaged by locking plates 12 and 13 which are also secured to the underside of the frame 3, as by means of screws 14. If desired, the cover part could be secured to the body by means of screws passing directly through the flanges l0 and 11, although the clamping plates are preferred in that they permit adjustment of the cover part relative to the body and, at the same time, the locking plates serve to close the undersurfaces of the slots in which the pivot pins for the trays are joumaled.

In accordance with the invention, the receptacle 8 is detachably retained within the body of the urn by a latch means which may conveniently take the form of a spring retainer 15 formed from spring steel, the spring retainer being secured along its lowermost edge to the rear wall of the urn, as by means of rivets 16. At its uppermost free edge the spring retainer is reversely bent to define a channel 17 adapted to be engaged by the outwardly rolled lip 18 of receptacle 8. Conveniently, the receptacle 8 may be formed from sheet metal having flanges along its upper edges which are rolled about a lip-defining wire rod, as will be understood by the worker in the art.

While an opposing pair of spring retainers may be provided to engage the lips extending along the opposite side edges of the receptacle 8, it is preferred for stability to oppose the spring retainer 15 with an abutment 19 having a shoulder 20 positioned to be engaged by the lip 18a of the receptacle. Such abutment may be conveniently formed from sheet metal and fixedly secured to the interior of the body 1 so as to oppose the spring retainer 15, the spring retainer acting to urge the opposite side of the receptacle 8 into contact with the abutment 19, with the lip 18a seated on the shoulder 20.

The undersurface of the receptacle 8 is provided with a handle or similar gripping means 21 by means of which downward force can be applied to disengage the receptacle from its latching means. Preferably, the handle will be wholly contained within the confines of the body 1 so that there is no external indication that the body has an open bottom.

As should now be evident, the instant invention provides a smoker's urn which effectively is of unitary construction and yet the enclosed receptacle is readily accessible .for the removal of collected ashes and the like. It will be understood that suitable mounting means will be provided for securing the urn to a supporting surface. Separate mounting brackets may be provided or, preferably, the rear wall of the body may be provided with bayonet slots for engaging mounting screws or the like.

Various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from its spirit and purpose. Several such modiflcationshave already been set forth and others will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading this specification. For example, while the spring retainer latch means is preferred, other types of releasable latch mechanisms may be employed to detachably secure the receptacle in place, inclusive of catch mechanisms which require positive displacement before the receptacle can be removed.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege I claimed are defined as follows:

1. A smokers urn comprising a body part, a theft-proof cover part, and an open top receptacle, said body part having enclosing body walls, an open top, and an open bottom, said open top receptacle being of the size to be inserted into said body through the open bottom thereof, latch means positioned to releasably engage said receptacle and hold it within the confines of said body part, the open top of said body part being defined by marginal flanges projecting inwardly from said body walls, said cover part comprising a frame seated on and supported by said flanges, tray means pivotally mounted on said frame, said tray means being manually movable from a closed position in which the top of said body is covered, to an open position in which the top of said body is uncovered and ashes deposited on said tray means will be discharged downwardly through the open top of said body into the underlying receptacle, and attachment means for fixedly securing the frame of said cover part to said inturned flanges, said attachment means comprising screws engaging said frame from beneath and acting to operatively connect said frame to said flanges, said screws being accessible only through the opening in the bottom of said body part, whereby said cover part can be removed only by first removing said receptacle and then disengaging said screws.

2. The smoker's urn claimed in claim 1 wherein said at tachment means for fixedly securing the frame of said cover part to said inturned flanges includes locking plates secured to the underside of said frame by said screws, said plates also engaging the undersurfaces of the said inturned flanges.

3. The smokers urn claimed in claim 1 wherein said open top receptacle has outwardly projecting lips extending along its opposite side edges, wherein the latch means for releasably securing said receptacle within said body part comprises a spring retainer secured to the inner surface of one of said enclosing body walls, said spring retainer having a reversely bent portion engageable with the outwardly projecting lip extending along one side edge of said receptacle, and an abutment within said body part positioned to be engaged by the outwardly projecting lip on the opposite side edge of the receptacle, said spring retainer acting to urge said last named lip into engagement with said abutment. 

1. A smoker''s urn comprising a body part, a theft-proof cover part, and an open tOp receptacle, said body part having enclosing body walls, an open top, and an open bottom, said open top receptacle being of the size to be inserted into said body through the open bottom thereof, latch means positioned to releasably engage said receptacle and hold it within the confines of said body part, the open top of said body part being defined by marginal flanges projecting inwardly from said body walls, said cover part comprising a frame seated on and supported by said flanges, tray means pivotally mounted on said frame, said tray means being manually movable from a closed position in which the top of said body is covered, to an open position in which the top of said body is uncovered and ashes deposited on said tray means will be discharged downwardly through the open top of said body into the underlying receptacle, and attachment means for fixedly securing the frame of said cover part to said inturned flanges, said attachment means comprising screws engaging said frame from beneath and acting to operatively connect said frame to said flanges, said screws being accessible only through the opening in the bottom of said body part, whereby said cover part can be removed only by first removing said receptacle and then disengaging said screws.
 2. The smoker''s urn claimed in claim 1 wherein said attachment means for fixedly securing the frame of said cover part to said inturned flanges includes locking plates secured to the underside of said frame by said screws, said plates also engaging the undersurfaces of the said inturned flanges.
 3. The smoker''s urn claimed in claim 1 wherein said open top receptacle has outwardly projecting lips extending along its opposite side edges, wherein the latch means for releasably securing said receptacle within said body part comprises a spring retainer secured to the inner surface of one of said enclosing body walls, said spring retainer having a reversely bent portion engageable with the outwardly projecting lip extending along one side edge of said receptacle, and an abutment within said body part positioned to be engaged by the outwardly projecting lip on the opposite side edge of the receptacle, said spring retainer acting to urge said last named lip into engagement with said abutment. 